But, according to Project Q, the trip wasn’t all business: Atlanta is also where Weir’s elusive boyfriend lives. In October Weir announced he was engaged to a 28-year-old Russian lawyer who still lived with his family in the city’s suburbs.

Weir, who’s based in New Jersey, didn’t name his Slavic soulmate outright, though. He told the GA Voice, “My boyfriend, fiancé now, has only recently come out. He’s 28 years old and it’s been an uncomfortable, rocky road for him.”

But, as Project Q notes, the pair are quickly going public, at least in the social-media sense: Weir has been sending gushy tweets to @vitya_zvesda, a.k.a. Georgetown Law grad Victor Voronov.

Thank you Mansion On Peachtree hotel, the best in Atlanta. I am sad to leave! ATL—->LGA. I love you @vitya_zvesda!!

“Going out for date night with @vitya_zvesda, Zhenya and Lama. Atlanta is booming tonight!”

“Landed at JFK from Moscow. Missing Russia so much! But seeing @vitya_zvesda the day after tomorrow is the silver lining.”

And Voronov tweeted how he missed Weir when the skater was recently in Moscow:

Weir has been depicted as flighty and superficial by the media, but after seeing a different side of him in the documentary Be Good Johnny—a powerful and opinionated athlete who’s given most of his life over to a sport that’s scared of its own gay shadow—we think he and Victor sound like a sweet couple.

And seriously, can you not wait for that wedding? Imagine what kind of rhinestone-encrusted white fur monstrosity Weir is gonna walk down the runway aisle in.

Interesting CNN is having Weir talk about GLBT visibility when Johnny wouldn’t admit he was gay for the longest time. I’m sure there is a list of many other people who would be more qualified for the panel than Weir.

Dec 22, 2011 at 11:53 am · @Reply ·

rrr

@Chadboy: After Weir came out he announced that he’d be straight if he could have chosen, he’s not proud to be gay and regardless of his homosexuality he can envision himself marrying a woman. He is a strange person to have on such a panel. I think because his costumes and behavior are so unabashedly flamboyant and feminine people tend to mistakenly assume he’s full of gay pride.

Dec 22, 2011 at 2:16 pm · @Reply ·

Tracy

Johnny lives his life on his own terms, and he always has. Anyone who has paid even a little attention to him beyond the image of him created by the media would see that. Some people didn’t like him because he was “too gay” and others didn’t like him because he wasn’t gay enough (presumably this just means he didn’t get on a magazine cover with the words “I’M GAY” plastered across it). He never let any of them dictate who he should be, he just lived his life, and unless you’re someone who thinks only a press conference announcement counts as being out, he did so as an out gay man for years. And he did so in a sport that doesn’t really care if you’re gay as long as you try really hard to pretend you aren’t in front of cameras. He might not have ever said he was gay but he certainly never tried to pretend he wasn’t, as his sport pressured him (and pressures others) to do. Frankly I can’t think of anyone better suited for the CNN panel.

And good for him for finding happiness. He deserves it.

Dec 22, 2011 at 8:08 pm · @Reply ·

ZHammer

Johnny Weird has no business being on a Queer visibility panel especially on TV. Johnny Weir is a disgrace to the gay community. Johnny would not come out of the closet for 15 years, he says all the time he is ashamed of being gay and would marry a woman. Johnny does not have long term male friends, he does not like men, in his eyes women are superior to men. Many of Johnny’s friends both male and female stopped talking to him because he would not come out of the closet and was disrespectful to and contemptuous of the queer community. Johnny Weird is not gay he is a transgendered woman who refuses to get a sex change because he wanted to qualify for the Olympics. Johny Weir was guaranteed to win the Olympics in Torino, Italy but he showed up late and won bronze or did not medal I don’t remember (I don’t care).

Dec 22, 2011 at 9:09 pm · @Reply ·

ZHammer

Johnny Weir is a complete failure as an ice skater. He falls all the time in competition, professionally skaters should not fall. He lost competitions all the time and performed horribly. Johnny always went to clubs, drank, and partied all night instead of practicing for competition. Johnny is unprofessional, selfish, he disrespects the other ice skaters. He lacks the proper behavior (class), dignity, self respect, self control, and quiet grace of a figure skater. Johnny Weird exploited his coming out for $money, one should never come out for $money, it is unethical and sets a bad example for young adults. Johnny should have come out at 16, 18, or after the Torino, Italy Winter Olympics. In this day and age figure skaters don’t face too many consequences for coming out. Johnny Weird will never marry a man, he will marry a woman-fag hag. Johnnny weir is the invisible “gay”. GLADD should not have given him a visibility award either.

Dec 22, 2011 at 9:14 pm · @Reply ·

ZHammer

@Tracy: You are defending the closet and enabling the homophobia that keeps gay men as second class citizens. This is not the 1950s.

Dec 23, 2011 at 12:06 am · @Reply ·

Sam

@zhammer

You clearly can’t stand Johnny Weir. However, that is no excuse for spreading false information. And your comments are so full of misinformation I don’t even know where to begin. Johnny Weir has won three US National championships and he skated clean in each of his championship performances, as well as when he got bronze in the World Championships in 2008. In fact, he has very rarely fallen in competitions. Indeed, one of his main issues with the current judging system is that a skater can win despite several falls (and many fans and fellow skaters agree with him).

What evidence do you have that Weir “went to clubs, drank, and partied all night instead of practicing for competitions”? All evidence I’ve ever encountered suggests that while in training he was just as disciplined as any other athlete–being witty in press conferences and interviews does not mean you’re living the fast life.

Finally, the gay issue. When USFSA and Skate Canada started pushing a more “macho” image of male figure skating, Weir continued to be his fabulous self, never pretended to have a girlfriend, and never toned down his behavior or switched his outfits to “manly” black. He continued to sparkle as he had before. And as far as I know, he’s never said he’s ashamed he’s gay–he’s just said that being gay does not define him, and that’s a different thing altogether.

I wish Johnny and his future husband all the best!

The fact that Weir has received so much crap from the gay community saddens me to no end. A community that preaches inclusiveness should practice it too.

Thank you for setting the record straight, Sam, and for pointing out how misinformed this person is.

It saddens me to no end as well that the gay community, of all things, is as prejudiced as the community from which it expects respect and acceptance. You will never get it if you don´t practice what you expect from others.